It is well know in the art that labels are useful for many types of business forms. In many applications, it has been found that it is much more cost effective and convenient to provide essentially blank forms and then some form of separate customizable or printable label for uniquely identifying that form. One such major application for this technique includes the typical file folder with which those in office settings are imminently familiar. There are many different types of file folders including the ubiquitous manila file folders that have a tab which in the prior art provides a convenient place for the application of a label or even hand scrawling an identifying title for its contents. This tab has been located at the top or side of the file folder to accommodate the particular filing cabinet or shelf used to store what is typically a series of them each holding related information, such as patient files, customer files, etc. As an aid in maintaining them in proper order, avoiding losing or mis-filing files, and retrieving them, various schemes have been developed for all manner of coding systems. These include most predominantly color coding and bar coding.
One example of the type of labeling file folders which is available in the prior art is presently being marketed under the ColorBar® trademark by Smead Mfg. Co. That product essentially comprises self adhering labels provided in roll format or on a sheet which may be as large as 8½ by 11 inches and have multiple labels for convenient processing by a printer such as a laser printer, typically under computer control, with custom software also being provided. This product has become to be known as strip labels as they take the form of a strip which is approximately twice as wide as the tab and printable on both sides to allow the strip label to be adhered to and cover both sides of the tab. While this product, and other similar products, have allowed for the customized printing of labels that may then be applied to the various types of business forms including file folders, they have been further improved to solve issues that have developed with their use.
One such issue has been the unevenness with which these strip labels have been applied to the folders, thereby interfering with the eyeballing of a row of files to locate files that are out of place and otherwise making it difficult to locate a particular file due to the inconsistent appearance of the file labels. As it is desired for files to be kept neat and organized, an inconsistent appearance detracts from that goal. To solve this problem, there has been developed at least one method in the prior art for consistently aligning the labels as they are applied to the folder tab. That form and method is presently being marketed under the ClickStrip™ trademark by Smead Mfg. Co, and may be the subject of a pending patent application.
Still another issue which has arisen through the use of these types of labels is the propensity for the customized labeling to be worn away by the constant handling of the file by the strip label, which covers the file tab. As the tab sticks out from what is typically the side or top of the folder, it becomes a convenient handle for the user to grasp the file for removing it from, or replacing it back into, its location within the drawer or shelf. This usage induces an inordinate amount of wear on the pre-printed color bars or bar code or other identifying indicia as a person's fingers have contaminants such as perspiration, hand lotion, and other such substances which contact the face of the label and have a deleterious affect thereon. Furthermore, in some instances, the file may be difficult to remove or replace due to the crowding of the file folders so that some appreciable gripping force is applied, and the users fingers may slip, thereby “smearing” the label as the user attempts to move the file. Again, there has been at least one solution arrived at in the prior art which entails a separate sheet of lamination strips that are sized to cover the face, or one side, of the label strip after it has been printed and before it is removed from its backing sheet. Should the strip labels have been prepared a sheet at time, a sheet of laminating strips may also be applied to the sheet of strip labels in a single application. This technique allows for the application of laminating strips to a plurality of labels in one operation. The laminating strip may have an edge which extends beyond the edge of the strip label, assuming they are aligned properly as the laminating strip is applied to the strip label, with adhesive applied to the edge as an aid in applying the strip/lamination matrix to the file folder tab. However, that alignment issue is only addressed in the context of the aforementioned foil sheet having multiple strip labels and separate full sheet having multiple matching laminating strips. As can be appreciated, these separate sheets require extra material, at extra cost. As the lamination material would generally require a lamination carrier, and lamination material is relatively expensive, this solution does represent a significant additional expense. Furthermore, separate sheets of strip labels and laminating strips have to be handled by a staff person in order to assemble the strip labels, which takes time and effort. Unless proper care is taken, it is entirely possible and even likely that the laminating strips will not be properly aligned thereby detracting from the desired overall neatness of appearance, not even considering that improperly aligned laminating strips could result in premature peeling of the strip label/laminating strip from the file tab and thus failure of the strip label.
In order to solve these and other shortcomings of the prior art, and to reduce both material as well as labor cost, the inventor herein has succeeded in designing and developing several embodiments of a self-laminating strip label and a method of assembling the label and laminating strip and applying it to the file folder that virtually eliminates the possibility of incorrect alignment between them and which provides a finished strip label having a lamination applied on both sides.
In a first embodiment of his invention, the self-laminating strip label is assembled from a form having two layers. A first layer of a face stock material suitable for receiving a printed image overlies a second layer of a laminating material which is substantially transparent and which may be made from Mylar or other suitable material as is known in the art. These layers are adhered to each other with a pattern adhesive which allows for assembly of a strip label/laminating strip matrix, as will be explained. More particularly, the face stock has a separation line, which is preferably a die cut or perforation, which defines the strip label with the strip label being sized to fold over the tab and mark both sides of the tab, as known in the art. When the strip label is removed from the form, a layer of adhesive occupies a central portion of the label defined by a periphery where no adhesive is applied and instead a release coat insures that adhesive is left behind on the form as the label is separated therefrom. Thus, the strip label as separated from the form has adhesive at its central portion but not around its periphery which allows for handling of the strip label without a user's fingers contacting the adhesive. On the opposite side of the form, in the laminating layer, a second separation line or preferably die cut defines a laminating strip which is somewhat larger than the label, with the laminating strip and label being aligned with each other such that while contained within the form, the label is approximately centered over the laminating strip. Furthermore, as dictated by this construction and as will be further explained below, the laminating strip when separated from the form has a central portion which has no adhesive but which has an outer peripheral area surrounding its circumference where at an adhesive layer is applied. To provide a strip label and laminating strip appropriately sized, an envelope-sized form may be used, or these label/laminating strip separation lines may be arranged in a plurality from top to bottom on an 8½×11 sheet. With this construction, a single form thus contains both the printable label as well as its laminating strip for covering it as it is applied to the file folder tab.
There are several methods available for using this first embodiment and applying it to the tab including one method which guarantees the self-alignment of the label with the laminating strip. As can be appreciated, the label may be removed from the form by separating the separation line which forms it. Thereafter, the label may simply be inverted and conveniently replaced back into the opening which it left behind. Thus, the form provides a convenient picture frame for receiving the label back into the form which is then self-aligned with the laminating strip on the opposite side of the form. As will be more specifically explained below, the adhesive applied to the laminating strip adheres it to the label as it is placed back in the form such that the two parts thus form an assembled matrix. The user then can conveniently separate the die cut formed in the laminating material layer and, as the label is adhered to the laminating strip, both are then conveniently removed from the form or carrier in one step. Should this method be followed, the user would then have in his hand an assembled matrix of a label and laminating strip which have been self-aligned with each other almost exactly as they had been formed at the factory, and the assembly/matrix is then ready for application to a file folder tab. The first embodiment of this invention, and the method for using it, are more fully explained below.
For convenience, the phrase “separating line” may be understood as either a die cut or perforation line, or other such impression made into the layer of material, and where “separating line” or the specific phrase “die cut” or “perforation” or “score” is used, one of ordinary skill in the art will understand that one or the other may be used as suits the particular application. In many instances, it would not significantly matter to the operability of the form should a “perf” line be used instead of a die cut, although for optimum results and convenience one or the other may well be preferred. Thus, the reader will understand that a separation line could be either, or some other similar line, with the specific preferred type of line being chosen by one of ordinary skill in the art using ordinary skills and teaching readily available to those of skill in the art, and that the subject invention should not be limited to either, unless specifically identified as being required in a particular location.
The inventor has also conceived of a second embodiment which includes a pair of die cuts cut into the face stock layer, with one of the die cuts being slightly larger than the other. These die cuts are arranged, and a perforation or fold line/score may be provided in the form such that as the larger (dummy) label is removed, the form may be folded over and the smaller label be nested within the opening. The slightly larger dimension of the dummy label allows for convenient placement of the smaller label into the opening without exact alignment therebetween. A laminating strip is defined by a cutout in the second layer of the form, as with the first embodiment, with this laminating strip being aligned with the dummy label die cut. With this embodiment, a user may perhaps more conveniently align the label with the laminating strip to form the label/laminating strip matrix prior to its application to the file folder tab. Furthermore, this embodiment may be constructed with alternating strips of release coating and adhesive which is a less complex adhesive/release coating pattern and which is anticipated to be easier to construct and perhaps less expensive.
The inventor has further developed still a third embodiment of the present invention. This third embodiment includes a strip label defined by a separation line in the face stock layer and a lamination defined by a separation line in the laminating material layer, with the strip label being offset from the lamination but with an edge of each lying in the same plane. Additional separation lines are provided in both layers, as explained more fully below, which allow for assembly of the strip label/lamination matrix in one of two inventive methods. In a first method, approximately half of the strip label is exposed and then adhered to the file folder tab, the lamination is exposed and folded over the strip label to which it is adhered, and then the rest of the strip label is exposed and adhered to the form. In a second method, the lamination may be first exposed and folded over to adhere to the strip label, the strip label then is exposed in steps as before and the strip label/lamination is adhered to the file folder. By constructing the form with the strip label and lamination edges adjacent, a simple folding over of the form reliably brings these two components into alignment so as to guarantee that the strip label/lamination assembly is properly created.
With each of the foregoing embodiments, the inventor has provided a two-layer form with separation lines and adhesive/release coating for creating a separate strip label and matching laminating strip which completely covers both sides of the strip label as it is applied to the file folder tab. Additionally, with either embodiment, the form conveniently allows for the creation of an assembly or matrix within the form which comprises the strip label and laminating strip aligned and adhered to each other prior to their removal from the form such that a user may “pre-assemble” the matrix in a reliably aligned fashion prior to applying the assembly/matrix to the file folder tab. Thus, should a user make a mistake, all that is wasted is a strip label form and not the file folder also. All this is achieved in a single, two layer form that may be readily processed by a printer, such as preferably a computer controlled laser or ink jet printer, or other such printers as are already known in the art. Furthermore, alignment markings or perforations may be applied to either embodiment as an aid in aligning the assembly/matrix with the file folder tab so that each assembly/matrix may be properly aligned with the file folder tab prior to its application. This insures that the laminated strip label is oriented properly with respect to each of the file folders in order to create a uniform and orderly filing system.
While the principal advantages and features of the invention have been briefly described above, a more detailed understanding of the invention may be attained by referring to the drawings and Detailed Description Of The Preferred Embodiment which follow.